Probiotic Therapy Could Help Ease Autism-Like Behaviour, Mice Study Shows

Probiotic therapy alleviates autism-like behavior, a latest mice study shows.

"Traditional research has studied autism as a genetic disorder and a disorder of the brain, but our work shows that gut bacteria may contribute to ASD-like symptoms in ways that were previously unappreciated," said Professor of Biology Sarkis K. Mazmanian, according to a press release. "Gut physiology appears to have effects on what are currently presumed to be brain functions."

The researchers used a mouse model of autism, created by Paul H. Patterson, the Anne P. and Benjamin F. Biaggini Professor of Biological Sciences at the Caltech laboratory. These two researchers had developed the model by infecting the mice with a severe viral infection, which was similar to the viral infections in humans. This means that the pregnant mice could give birth to autistic mice.

The autistic mice were treated with Bacteroides fragilis, a bacterium used to treat GI disorders in animal models. The researchers examined theses mice and found that they showed changes in their behavior. These mice were less stressed, anxious and performed fewer repetitive actions, such as digging less often.

"The B. fragilis treatment alleviates GI problems in the mouse model and also improves some of the main behavioral symptoms," senior research fellow at Caltech and first author of the study, Elaine Hsiao said. "This suggests that GI problems could contribute to particular symptoms in neurodevelopmental disorders."

"This probiotic treatment is postnatal, which means that the mother has already experienced the immune challenge, and, as a result, the growing fetuses have already started down a different developmental path," Patterson added. "In this study, we can provide a treatment after the offspring have been born that can help improve certain behaviors. I think that's a powerful part of the story."

The study was published in the journal Cell.